Hi all,
First of all this is my first post on your forum so thank you for taking the time to read my question.
Ph 6.5 -7
Nh3 0
No2 0
No3 5-10ppm

Tank juwel Rio 125 8 weeks old external filter fluval 206
3 fish less than 3inch
My black moor has the following problems.
Problem 1 floaty problems right after eating. This sorts its self out after a few hours but no amount of fasting sorts the in the long run.
Problem 2 mushy belly, its belly has been fairly mushy for the past 3weeks
Problem 3 small lumps keep appearing slowly growing and disappearing taking about a week between seeing and disappearing towards the rear of the fish. They are spot size without a head and don't make the scales pop up.
Problem 4 floaty poop
Non of the other fish seam to be affected but I have treated the water with melafix.
The only other thing is the telescope seams to spend quite a lot of time at the top of the tank.
Could this be parasites?

Hi

Could you answer a few more questions please?

What temp is the tank? Fancies tend to suit slightly warmer water which seems to aid digestion and stops floatyness.

What food are you using? Flake or pellets? Do you pre soak first? Any veggies or fruit/frozen or live foods? Have you tried cooked deshelled pea's chopped up at all - a good natural unblocker?

Quote:
Can you expand on what you mean by mushy?

Quote:
Any chance of a pic at all to assist FK?

Other than the blackmoor, what species are the other two?

I'd hang fire with the melafix for now as medding when the cause is unclear can be an issue. Fish at the top of the tank would indicate an o2 issue. Do you run an airstone at all?

Sorry, lot's of questions I know but it all helps.

Hi Violet,
Temp is min 18 Max 21 by house thermostat. Tank reading always 19-21.
Feeding tetra pellets pre soaked.
Peas do work really well but don't seam to fix long term. E.g fish gets gas, feed peas, poops peas, 2days later feed 2pellets fish gets gas. There's also a moss algae ball which they seam to like.
If I handle it I can feel his stomach which seams rather softer than the rest of his body and when compared to other fish.
I have tried to get a photo but hes rather protective of his rear. I'll try to get one but I may have to take him out to get a good shot.
1 black moor 2-3 inch
1 oranda 2 inch
1 telescope 2 inch
I think the oranda is male and the other two female.

There's two air stones and output from filter makes a terrific amount of bubbles.
He spends about 5 mins at the top then goes off digging in the gravel.
Thank you for your time

Well the o2 shouldn't be an issue with that surface disturbance. Sounds like usual behaviour then

I would try ruling out a few of the common issues before assuming bacterial infection. Certainly these will help all the fish you house. Set a heater for 21-22 degrees to get a constant temp in the tank. It's unlikely to come on very often given the room temps you mention but may help, especially at night when it still gets colder right now when heating goes off.

pH is a tad low. I'd try to buffer the tap water up to about 7.5. Anything under 7 is a bit low really for these fish. A tiny bit of Bicarb of Soda will raise pH in the tank until the next water change. Some crushed coral shell in the filter will work longer term. As with all pH changes, undertake this gradually to avoid shock.

Try to mix up the food a bit. Pellets most of the time don't always suit all fancies. True, I too use pellets in the morning when in a rush normally, but see if feeding some blanched veggies (remove after 12 hours if they last that long) in the evening when you have more time to fiddle, helps. Perhaps try alternating in the evening with live or frozen food too. Blanched broccoli/green beans/cauliflower go down well usually and I've been trying Julian Sprungs Green Seaweed in a veggie clip, which is relished. Algae wafers are good too.

Screwcumbers are good for holding down bigger fresh food: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fro ... 70.l2736&_nkw=screwcumber

As for the spots coming and going, are you sure this isn't Ich (whitespot)? White, like a dusting of salt. The spots drop off the fish as the parasite assumes its next 'stage' in the tank. If so preferable meds would be Seachem Protozin or Esha Exit, both of which are very effective. Don't take the fish out of the tank though to get a pic, I wouldn't want it stressed. Can you catch in a net perhaps and take a pic from above/side, whilst still in the water?

If none of the changes above make much difference to the problem, then perhaps a broad anti-bacterial med will assist but you are likely to need something a bit more powerful than melafix.

In the interim, you may also find the link below helpful, given the stock you have. Apologies if this is already in hand/you are aware, but as other readers see these posts, best for me to just add.

Tank Sizes & Life Expectancy:
http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles ... -size-life-expectancy.htm

Fins crossed for the little fishy

Heating is never off since its a combi boiler but I shall add a heater to raise the temp a bit.
I shall try to raise the ph and add some other things to they're diet.
As for the spot its bigger than ich. Its about 1mm round.
Here's a video of him. The lump is behind his left rear lower fin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcOXEh ... ture=youtube_gdata_player

As for tank size I think the moor has been stunted since I rescued him from someone that kept him in a 10 liter tank without a filter!

Thanks again!

Unfortunately the footage is really hard to see given his flappiness (obviously not affecting his perkiness) lol but I would make a semi reasoned punt.

You rescued him from far from ideal circumstances (good on you though) and posts here often relay that the damage is somewhat done by that stage. There has been no mention of how old the fish actually is, but my fancies at 4 months old were 4 inches, so chances are he is suffering from stunting which would not aid his swimming problems - other organs pressing on the swim bladder as they continue to grow

Increasing pH, a bigger home, a varied healthy diet and warmer water should all help to make the fishies happier and more comfortable longer term.

As for the random lumpyness, IMO these are not:

- fatty cysts - they do not come and go
- tumours - benign or cancerous - likewise
- Ich - doesn't sound like it then size wise, although these 'blobs' do fall off the fish during their own cycle
- Body Flukes - blob like, but need microscope scrapings to ID

I think you may be witnessing a form of Lymphocystis. Generally pink or whitish blobs, sometime more grey. They can come up, expand a bit and then reduce, although the time frame for such changes is usually longer. Viral (like a wart in humans) so no treatment is avialable but not very contagious either. Given his earlier life is likely to have affected his immune system, this may have taken hold.

See if any more coldies can add any more pearls of wisdom though.

Haha yes as you can see he doesn't like to pose for a photo and doesn't seam to be bothered by the odd lump.
My ph is now 7-7.5. Nitrates 5. I have raised the temperature to 22c and have been feeding some veggies. The lump has gotten slightly larger since last time.
I believe he is 3years old I have only had him for a year and previous to this tank he was in a 40 liter which he was very happy in but I decided to get a larger tank and some friends for him.
I shall try to get some good photos.
Once again thank you for your knowledge

Quick update.
The lump popped then turned white and turned into two lump.Treated main tank with melafix after removing carbon. He has been better ever since.
New problem fluval 206 began leaking :(. But that's for another thread.
Once again thank you